Chapter 13: "Hunting Horcruxes"
Then it hit Harry, "Slughorn!"
"Not so loud, I'm right here," chided Snape.
"Sorry," Harry went on, "Slughorn could have brewed it. He was, after all, a Potions Master and teacher here when Tom Riddle was in school. And he knew about horcruxes and told Riddle about them."
Snape leaned back against the stool's back. He was deep in thought. He knew Horace Slughorn well enough to get a feel for how he brewed. Slughorn was not nearly as inventive as Snape was. Slughorn was thorough and fairly straightforward when it came to potions.
"Back to the books," he said with a trademark smirk. He continued as they strolled to the bookcases, "Slughorn left Hogwarts unexpectedly and I was put into his place by the Headmaster. Then the Dark Lord had his first fall."
Harry followed Snape into his personal library. Snape began to run his fingers along the spines of the books looking for one in particular. His elegant fingers found it in no time.
Harry added, "Then he came out of 'retirement' when Professor Dumbledore made you the Dark Arts teacher. I was there when Professor Dumbledore offered him the job. He acted like he did not want it until he sort of realized that I was part of the package."
"This is the one," he muttered mostly to himself. "Yes, it would insure that the Dark Lord had two sets of eyes on you at all times. Did he try to ingratiate himself with you?"
"Always. He made me feel uncomfortable most of the time, too."
Harry caught a glimpse of the author – Horace Slughorn. It was a fairly new book, too.
"His latest publication, well, before he went to ground," Snape told Harry. "I confess that I had not really read it. Slughorn is not one of my favourite Potions Masters. He lacks ingenuity and real creativity."
"So how did he get to be a Potions Master?" Harry inquired.
"Excellent question," Snape sneered. "I suppose it's about who you know sometimes not what you know. I mean, he's competent enough. In fact, if he was the Master who made this, that he is not inventive is a good thing, now isn't it?"
Harry nodded. He had secretly harboured the belief that Slughorn was really a fake, deep down inside. He had more respect for Snape as a Potions Master, even when he hated Snape's guts. Harry would willing acknowledge that Snape knew his potions, even if the dark arts was his passion. He also knew that as much as he had despised Snape, there was genuineness about Snape. You always knew where you stood with him. There was no such feeling with Slughorn, other than the fear that he was about to use you to advance his own agenda. With things turned upside down as they now were, he felt more comfortable around Snape than he ever had around Slughorn.
"The lake water is toxic. If the Headmaster had not already taken the Draught, he would have died shortly after ingesting it. The Draught should have counteracted the most potent effects of the lake water. The potion is another matter entirely," Snape indicated.
"I'm hoping that something in Slughorn's most recent writings will give me some clues," Snape said.
"You mean, you think he'd be bragging about it in his book?" Harry wondered.
"You noticed, too," Snape was his snarky old self; Harry smiled quietly.
"I noticed that Slughorn never did anything that was not directly in his own interest," Harry commented. "But I don't think he had a Dark Mark though.
"Not all the Dark Lord's supporters took the Mark, only the young and foolish ones. And there are those who say that I do nothing but what is in my own interest, too," Snape countered.
"Yes, but I'm not sure I believe them any more," Harry concluded as Snape continued to pour over his work.
"How many horcruxes do you suppose he really has, Professor?" Harry asked.
"Don't know with any certainty. He never ever mentioned them to us," Snape indicated. "I do know about them, how they are formed, and that he fears death more than anything. So it makes sense to believe that there are more than one out there."
"We know that the one in Slytherin's ring is no more. What about Nagini? You never did say about her," Harry mentioned.
"Yes, Nagini is most likely his closest horcrux," Snape replied.
"Professor Dumbledore had thought that this might be the case," Harry responded.
"Then we shall go with his inclinations. While he's not infallible, I'd trust him with my life," Snape said. "Has the Order destroyed other horcruxes? What about the one that you brought back?"
"It was a fake. Somebody named R.A.B. says he destroyed it long ago," Harry said sadly. "That night was all for nothing."
"Not true, Harry, not true," Snape said. "The Headmaster knew that sooner or later he would have to appear to die at my hand."
"But the lake water and the potion…he drank them for nothing!" Harry was unhappy about his role in the whole affair.
"You can't look back and second guess yourself. If you do, you'll be immobilized for the rest of your life," Snape offered.
"Is that how you do it?" Harry blurted out.
Snape stopped to consider Harry, "Yes, it's how I do it. If I could go back and change things, don't you think for a minute that I wouldn't. I'd change a whole lot of things. But I can't. So I can't spend a whole lot of time thinking about what life would be like if I had done it that way instead of this way."
"How do you do it?"
"Takes practice and discipline," Snape commented with his arms folded over his chest. "Part of occlumency is discipline. I trust you and Hermione are doing better with the art than you and I did."
Harry nodded, "Care to try me?"
Snape's eyebrow rose at the challenge, "You wand, Mr. Potter, if you please."
Snape did find it much harder to break into Harry's mind than the last time they had worked together. It took him ten minutes to find a hole to work his way through. In the end, Harry found himself on the floor. Only this time, Snape offered him a hand back onto his feet.
"Indeed, you are much better," Snape commented with only the trace of a smile on his lips. "Hermione has done well with you."
"You love her, don't you, Severus?" Harry asked.
"What a silly notion," Snape dismissed him. "I'm old enough to be her father. What would she possibly see in me? I'm the 'greasy git' of the dungeons, remember."
"Self-deprecation does not suit you, sir. I can feel your love for her when you say her name," Harry gave his insight. "And, sir, she loves you and has always been fiercely protective of you. I don't think she ever really thought you could have killed Professor Dumbledore. She has always had faith in you and would never let Ron or me get away with insulting you behind your back."
Snape simply stared at Harry. He swallowed a little harder than usual.
"Nothing can come of it. So let's let it rest," Snape concluded at last. "Back to the matter at hand – horcruxes."